


Chocolate Cake and Red Wine

by SnowWatersStone



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Friendship, Modern, Romance, Sisters, Swearing, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 20:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7122061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowWatersStone/pseuds/SnowWatersStone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arya Stark didn't know what to expect when she left her hometown of Winterfell for college. She didn't know what to expect when she had to get an apartment, or when she ended up rooming with two boys. She definitely didn't expect to become friends with them, or to be attracted to one of them, or for that to ever be reciprocated. There's a lot of things Arya never expected, and a lot of things she might just get.<br/>*Part One of a Series of One Shots*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chocolate Cake and Red Wine

Arya had come to the conclusion that college sucked. This was mostly due to the fact that she was two hours from home and hadn't been accepted fast enough to get into the dorms, which left an apartment. And the only apartment she could find was a three bedroom that was occupied by two boys.

_“You don't want that,”' her sister, Sansa, had told her with a shake of the head._

_“We live with boys already,” Arya had pointed out. “It's fine.”_

_“It's different,” Sansa had insisted. “Trust me.”_

And now Arya wished she had listened. Because now she was rooming with two boys, one on the heavy side who called himself Hot Pie and the other looked like he was all muscle and no brain named Gendry Waters, which was stupid name. They both were amazing at pissing her off. Hot Pie liked to call her lumpyhead, and Gendry insisted on calling her m'lady which drove her insane. He didn't exactly mean it to be polite either, it was only because she was a tom boy and the opposite of a lady in any sense.

Then when she was on her period, she partly felt as if she needed to hide the evidence. At first. Then she got angry and stopped. Hot Pie tried to complain but she gave him such an angry look that he had drifted to silence instead. Gendry had nodded approval at him, and Hot Pie had grumbled to the other boy, “and I thought you seemed like a bull.” And then Arya had had to use all of her self control not to tackle him and get him in a head lock.

“I tried to tell you,” Sansa said gently through the phone, in her ever calm tone. That calm tone never failed to make Arya want to hit someone, just to balance Sansa's level of calm.

“Yeah, well, you were right and now I'm locked in a lease until May.” Arya groaned and kicked a rock as she neared the door to her building. “They suck. They're smelly, they're loud, they're obnoxious, they love to make me angry. Did I mention that they're loud? Well, they are and now they're having a party tonight. It'll be them and a shit ton of frat boys. I know it. And I hate it. And I hate them.”

Sansa sounded sympathetic when she said, “Want me to drive up? We can go to a movie or something? Stay at a hotel?”

Arya wanted to say yes, wanted to tell her to do it. But she didn't because that was a lot of gas, a lot of money, and she knew she could deal with it. She just didn't want to. Besides, if she was going to be rational about this, which she didn't like to be, this probably wasn't the first party Gendry and Hot Pie were going to host. She needed to get used to it. “It's fine,” she said with a small sigh. “I can do this.”

“Oh, I know you can,” Sansa replied. “You were always better with the boys than I was.”

“That's because I push back.”

“So push.”

And it was the best advice Arya ever got.

When she walked into the apartment, the party was already in full swing. Loud music, beer everywhere. She threw her backpack to the ground and stormed into the kitchen, where she found Gendry acting as bartender. He looked up at her, eyes widening slightly. “We did tell you,” he told her defensively.

“Oh, I know.” Arya reached out and yanked the glass of whatever he had made from his hand. “And I apparently can't stop you.” She downed it. “That leaves beating you.” She looked up at him, her gaze burning into his. Maybe it was the alcohol- she'd never been allowed more than one wine glass at dinner- but she suddenly noticed how blue his eyes were, they were almost like sapphires. And they were swimming with shock at her response.

“Then do it.” He poured more into her glass. “M'lady.” His eyes held a look that was all challenging, perplexed, and gentle at the same time.

She lifted her eyes to his and drank. And kept drinking.

Until the room was swimming and she felt completely free. She wasn't wasted, maybe not even quite drunk, but definitely a step or two past tipsy. And then she found herself dancing on their dining room table with some guy- a friend of the boys maybe- and it wasn't innocent dancing. It was the kind of dancing that would have made Sansa want to cry, and Jon definitely cry.

She shouldn't have been surprised when the boy's lips went moving towards her, but even drunk, Arya knew that that wasn't what she wanted that night. But she lacked the grace to back up properly and ended up falling to the floor, right on her arm which had automatically extended to catch her. Now it was aching and the room was spinning much worse than before and she made a sound that sounded somewhere between a whimper and a groan. It was a pitiful sound and she hated that she made it, but it couldn't be helped.

But it was a party and no one had noticed that she fell, much less that she was hurt. That was what she thought anyway, until someone was beside her and a hand was on her arm. She made a pathetic sound again and tried to pull it away but the hand moved to her upper arm to keep it still.

“Come on.”

And then she was lifted into a pair of arms. Her vision was swimming with pain, and still from alcohol she knew, and that made it hard to figure out who exactly had her. But then she finally placed the thick jaw, the blue eyes, and the dark hair.

“Gendry?” she mumbled.

The door to the bathroom was pushed open and then she saw a boy and a girl making out by the sink. “Oh, get out of here,” Gendry said. “Come on.” They looked up, the girl went red- Arya thought to herself that if she ever got caught making out she didn't want to blush- and the guy mumbled something before pulling her out. Then Gendry set Arya on the counter and gently pulled her arm to an angle where he could look at it.

“Ow,” she complained as a sharp pain shot through her.

“Sorry, m'lady,” he said gently, a grimace clear on his face. “I'm trying to figure out if we need to take you in.”

“What?” Arya stared. “Like to the ER? No. I'm fine.” she tried to pull her arm back but Gendry had a grip on her hand and it all hurt too badly to pull hard enough.

“Hang on,” he said. “I want to be sure. You can break a bone stretching your arm out like that.”

“I'm not stupid, stupid,” she snapped. And then she immediately felt bad when his eyes darted to hers, his eyebrows knitting together in a look that was almost hurt. “Sorry,” she muttered.

Gendry looked back at her arm and gently ran a hand over the skin. She winced and tried to pull it away. “Stop that,” he muttered. “I think you might be lucky, Arya. I'm not sure it's broken.” He fixed her with a stern look. “Stay here,” he told her. She immediately shifted as if to get up and follow him. “Stay. Here,” her repeated, voice brimming with patience and insistence. She made a face but didn't argue as he walked out of the room. When he returned, it was with an ice pack and a bottle of Tylenol. She gratefully took both.

“How much did you see?”

“The whole thing.”

Arya looked up at him and did the one thing she had just wanted to not do. She blushed at the memory flooding back. Did the whole thing mean everything with the boy? And Arya chickening out of something that should have been simple and easy?

“You've got some good moves,” he said. There was a slight smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, and a dimple just above it. It was kind of cute, if she was being honest- which she wasn't. “Believe it or not. Just probably should learn to not fall. Or at least how to fall.”

“I know how to fall!” she protested, annoyed at the accusation.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Shut up,” she muttered.

“I think you just like to argue.”

“I do not!” she argued, and then bit her tongue because she realized there was no proper way to answer his comment and win. And his grin told her it was on purpose so she wrinkled her nose at him and stuck out her tongue, not caring that it was a rather childish move.

“I think it's just bruised real good,” he said with an amazed shake of his head, looking back at her arm. “Wow.”

Arya shrugged. “I'm lucky.”

Gendry nodded. “Yeah. You're telling me.”

She shrugged her shoulders and took the Tylenol with a large drink of water.

“We should have asked you before we had the party,” Gendry said after a minute. “I'm sorry.”

She looked at him, sure that she had misheard. When he looked back at her, eyes completely sincere, she slowly nodded. “It's okay.”

“We've been a little piggish.”

Arya only rolled her eyes at that comment, because they both knew it was an understatement. Gendry grimaced in response, a silent conformation that he was thinking the same thing. “Maybe we can start over,” he said after a minute.

“In the bathroom?” Arya asked with a raise of one eyebrow.

Gendry shrugged. A small grin worked over his face as he reached behind her and flushed the toilet. “The gods have spoken,” he said. “Hear them roar. We will begin again.”

“You're so stupid,” Arya said under her breath, but there was no malice in her tone, only affection. And that affection surprised her. “Thank you for helping me,” she finally managed. Saying thank you had never been a strong point for her. But she knew Gendry deserved one.

“You're welcome. I watched you go down and...” He shook his head.

Arya finished the rest of her water bottle, both relieved and disappointed at how she was sobering. The pain, water, and Tylenol had done the trick. “Yeah, well.” She shrugged. “No one else did anything.”

“No one else realized it was serious.” Gendry leaned against the door. There was a question in his eyes, written all over his features.

“Go ahead,” she sighed. She knew what was coming, knew that he had in fact seen why she fell.

“Most girls would have gone for a drunken make out session,” he said after a long moment.

Arya shrugged. “I think I've proven I'm not most girls.”

Gendry chewed on his lower lip. “You looked....” Arya looked at him as his words were lost on his tongue. Curiosity burned through her, she had looked... What? Wasted? Wild? Happy? Attractive? Sexy? She wanted to hit herself. She had never been called attractive or sexy, and she didn't care if Gendry thought she was. “Scared,” he said finally.

She bristled immediately, her defenses and walls rising up in a flash. Gendry must have noticed because he shook his head, “Arya-” he started but she cut him off.

“Why would I be scared?” she snapped. “It doesn't scare me. He doesn't scare me. Kissing doesn't scare me.” She shoved herself off of the counter, using her arm before she thought better of it and wincing. She pushed him aside, thinking of Sansa telling her to push back, and went out of the room.

“Arya!”

She didn't look back.

\- - -

When she woke up, she wanted to die. She remembered the morning after Jon got drunk the first time ever- she had been 9- and he had been miserable. She'd woken him up unknowingly that morning, to which he had not been happy about. Now, Arya wanted to apologize for that. This was miserable. She pulled out her phone grudgingly and sent two texts, one to Jon and one to Sansa.

The one to Jon read “ _I hate every decision I ever made. I got drunk last night and I would like a mercy kill, please.”_. The one to Sansa read _“I almost kissed a guy last night. But I fell off a table and almost broke my arm instead.”_

 

**Jon: HAHAHAHAHAHA  
** _Arya: Fuck you._

**Jon: That's hilarious, ok. Damn kid. How do you feel?**

_Arya: -.-_

**Jon: HAHAHAHAHAH**

 

Sansa: Oh my gosh, are you okay? How did you manage that?

_Arya: I was dancing with him... On a table. And backed away, then fell._

Sansa: Wow. Are you okay?

_Arya: The only thing aching this morning is my pride._

 

And her head, and her stomach. But she didn't want to tell Sansa about all of the drinking the night before. That was better left unsaid. She was grateful that her sister wasn't asking her why, just like she knew she wouldn't. Sansa knew that dating wasn't high on Arya's priority list, or at least that she viewed it differently.

Arya looked at the clock and glared at the digital 12:49 PM blinking back at her. With a sigh, she forced herself out of bed and pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a brown sweater. She glanced at the mirror and took in the girl staring back at her. Brown short hair, ever messy, dark eyes, an nonstriking face. She tugged at her hair and sighed, knowing that she shouldn't care and hating that she did. She also hated that she couldn't look like Sansa. But she couldn't so she tore herself from the mirror and padded out towards the kitchen. If she couldn't have her sister's looks, she might as well have some milk.

“Morning m'lady.”

Gendry was sitting on the counter, his eyes watching her. He didn't look away, didn't even look ashamed of being caught watching her or even like he cared that she was looking back at him. She raised an eyebrow at him and he raised one right back. Finally, she groaned and snapped, “What?”

“Just curious. Wondering what the hell happened last night to be honest.”

She looked away. “Just drop it.”

“Arya, did he say something? Did you think he'd hurt you?” He sounded genuinely concerned and the questions surprised her. She had no idea he'd been thinking that.

“No,” she said honestly, opening the fridge and pulling out the milk carton.

“Did he spook you? Did he move too fast? Please tell me if it's small like that.”

“It's small,” she told him in a dull, almost bored tone. She wanted him to drop it. She wanted the discussion to go away and evaporate into nothing.

“Are you into girls?”

Arya spun around and stared at him for a moment. When he just stared intently back, she grabbed an apple from the counter and threw it at him before moving to get a glass from a cupboard. “No,” she said finally, as if it needed saying. 'That is not why.”

“Well then-”

She finally turned to face him, suddenly hyper aware of how small she really was, especially compared to the boy that Hot Pie called the Bull. “You'll laugh at me,” she finally said, her voice smaller than she had intended, than she had hoped. She might have been small, but she never wanted to seem it.

“I won't.” He slid to the floor, standing before her. “I promise.” He seemed genuinely worried, something that she was both curious about and annoyed by.

Arya glanced around for Hot Pie and when she was satisfied that they were alone, fixed her eyes back on Gendry. “I've never kissed anyone,” she finally said. “Okay? I've never been kissed and I was surprised and didn't know what to do and didn't want my first kiss to taste like cheap alcohol and drugs, assuming he does drugs but he seemed like a loser so he might.” It had all come out in a whirlwind, in one breath. So now she sucked in a deep breath.

Gendry's eyes softened then and Arya wanted to hit him for it. She didn't want pity or anything even close to it. “You've never kissed anyone?” He sounded honestly surprised.

“No,” she said finally. “No one ever wanted to. I look like a boy. They used to call me Horseface.”

Gendry's expression softened further and she couldn't bare to look at it so she looked back at the milk, focusing on pouring it more intently than was needed. “I don't think you look like a boy or a horse. You look like...” He trailed off and Arya was too embarrassed, too flustered to ask for any sort of elaboration. She just shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the jug, moving back to the fridge. “..Arya,” he said finally, “you look like Arya.”

She put the milk back in the fridge and paused. She thought of the calls of Horseface around the neighborhood, of her brother Jon telling her that she was different- that she was strong and made for hard work. She thought of playing in the mud with Rickon and their wolf hybrids they had rescued. She thought of how her mother would sigh when she came in with a ruined dress. “That's always been my problem,” she said in a low voice not meant for his ears before shutting the fridge. Before he could speak again, whether he had heard or not, she left the room, forgetting her milk in the kitchen.

\- - -

Things with the boys improved steadily after that night of partying with them. Either Hot Pie had noticed her join in that night, or Gendry had told him about it because he no longer treated her like an ousider. Gendry acted as if all of their serious talks had never happened, which she appreciated. Although he was a continuing pain in the ass, not that that stopped him from growing steadily into a friend. Enough so that they were both becoming more and more open with each other.

“SHIT!” Arya roared one night as she angled her body to the left with the video game controller.

“Turning your body won't actually increase your speed.” Gendry commented from the couch.

“Fuck you,” Arya shot back.

“You wish.”

She leaned forward and then slammed her body back so that her back was thrown into his legs. He laughed and kicked at her gently. Hot Pie took her distraction as an opportunity to pass her.

“BASTARD!” Arya roared.

Both of the boys laughed at her. She couldn't help it. She was competitive and she knew it. One of the things she missed most about being home was playing video games with Bran, who was more competitive than he seemed. No one believed her until they watched them play Burn Out Revenge and trash talk. A pang of missing her little brother shot through her.

And then they reached the finish line and Arya swore at her score. “4th place?! Shit my ass!”

Again, both of the boys roared into laughter. Gendry gripped her shoulder, leaning down to look at her. “Did you just say shit my ass?! Who says that?” Hot Pie laughed and fell onto his side, kicking the couch with laughter. It jerked backwards from impact and Gendry went right onto the carpet. Arya poked him in between the eyes.

“That'll teach you not to mock me,” she told him.

“It was Hot Pie's laughter that did it,” he replied, looking up at her. “Not you.” He rolled onto his back and put his head on her legs without waiting for permission. “What's got you so grumpy today?”

“I'm just competitive,” she growled. “So's my brother.”

“You have five of those,” Gendry said playfully, “forgive me for not knowing which.”

Arya rolled her eyes as she replied, “Bran.” Truth be told, was proud of Bran, insanely proud. He already knew what he wanted to do with his life, which was way ahead of her or even Jon. Bran was determined: he was going to be in law enforcement. It was all he had ever wanted.

Gendry reached out and took Hot Pie's discarded controller. “My turn to beat you. Promise not to cry when you lose?”

Arya glared at him. “Screw you.” He grinned cheekily and winked at her. In response, she shoved his head onto the floor. He only laughed and reached back to rub it. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he mirrored her- as he always did. “Why the hell do you laugh when I push you?” she asked. “You make no sense.”

Gendry rolled his eyes. “It's not like it's malicious. It's like when you call me stupid.” He sat up and pulled the couch so it was where he wanted it again then leaned his back against it, as did Arya.

“You make it sound like I always pick on you.”

Gendry grinned at her. “Don't you?”

She ignored him and lifted her controller again.

\- - -

As Arya walked from class to her apartment, she clicked on her voicemail waiting for her. Robb's voice was more than welcome as she lifted the phone. “Well, I didn't want to talk to you either then.” And then it was over. She scowled at it and called him back.

“Hello,” he answered brightly. “I considered hanging up on you so you knew how it felt. It hurt me.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed loudly. “How's it shaking?”

“Better,” she said. “Living with these two isn't so different from you guys I guess.”

“See?” Robb, opposite of Sansa, had been all for the idea. He thought she wouldn't have a problem. “I told you you had it in the bag. Just don't go sleeping with either of them or you'll have three pissed off older brothers.” Arya rolled her eyes at that, annoyed at the truth of it. Robb, Jon, and their adopted brother, Theon, would all go on a murder spree. Which was why they would never find out when or if she did.

“Trust me,” she replied, “there is no risk of that.”

“Good, I'll rest well tonight.”

She rolled her eyes again. “You're a pain in the ass.”

“You say that about everyone.”

“I mean it about you the most.”

“I highly doubt that.”

Arya couldn't help but give a small laugh as she opened the door to her apartment building. “You're right, sometimes I mean it more about my roommates. But one of them is visiting home for the weekend, so it might be quieter.”

“Don't sleep with whoever is there!” Robb told her sternly.

Arya rolled her eyes. “He's old. He's like your age.”

“You don't have to be hurtful.”

She opened the door of the apartment and was immediately hit with loud music. “He's being an idiot. I need to go so I can kill him and turn the music down.”

“Kill him first obvious, yes?”

“Obviously.” She hung up and pocketed her phone as she walked through the apartment. He was in the kitchen, doing dishes as he sang along loudly to a Bon Jovi song. Arya dropped her backpack and tapped him on the shoulder. Gendry jumped and looked at her.

“Hey!” he greeted with a grin. “Good evening m'lady!”

“What is with the loud music?”

He shrugged. “Why not? It's the best way to get chores done.” He scooped up soapy water in his hand and looked at her with a devilish grin.

Arya backed away, shaking her head. “Oh no. No, no, no-” The water hit her right in the face. She spat some out and glared at him. He was laughing honest to goodness belly laughs, bending over the sink. She rolled her eyes and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a can of Pepsi. She took a drink as she pulled herself onto the counter where she sat and watched him do the dishes.

The song switched and instead of a song even remotely related to Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood was blasting over the speakers. She raised her eyebrows. “This is random.”

“First off.” Gendry turned to face her. “This is my jam. I will take no judgement. Second, it's my phone music library. So deal with it.” He stuck out his tongue and turned back to the dishes. Arya couldn't help but grin as she watched him,, nodding her head in amusement. And that was _before_ Gendry started singing.

_“I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive.”_

Arya grinned, her eyebrows shooting up as she immediately felt herself sitting up straighter. She leaned forward. He was a bit off key, not horrible and definitely not painful, but not great. He glanced at her over his shoulder and scrunched up his face, nodding his head with the music as he started singing louder.

“I don't- Why?” She was laughing now. “Why on earth?”

He raised his voice again and it was cracking with laughter. “Not on me.” He mimed air guitar and just as Arya was trying hard not to fall into a fit of laughter, he reached out and grabbed her hand. And then she was tugged onto the ground and he was pulling her around the kitchen.

She squealed- although she would never admit to it again- and tried to get out of his grasp. “You're soapy and smelly!” she told him loudly. Laughter cracked his voice again but it only seemed to encourage him. He dipped her then so Arya reached out to the sink and managed to turn on the water before spraying him with the hose nozzle. Gendry laughed and his arms immediately let go in shock. Arya nearly fell to the ground, but it was completely worth it.

The both of them stood at different sides of the kitchen, both leaning on counters, both laughing true belly laughs. “You pain in the ass!” he gasped. His laughter finally subsided, as did hers. She grinned at him mischievously, thrilled to see that the messy locks of hair in his face were dripping wet and he was sputtering. Her eyes drifted downward and felt something constrict in her throat. His shirt was soaked- so much so that it was sticking to him like glue. She'd never noticed that her roommate was completely ripped before. She swallowed thickly and tore her gaze away, silently berating herself. She didn't need to be checking out her roommate. Seriously, what on earth kind of trouble was she asking for with that one?

She glanced at him again and saw him pulling at his shirt. He grinned at her. “Seriously. You got a good hit of water in there, damn.”

Arya chuckled and shook her head. “Go change then. I'll mop.”

Gendry rolled his eyes. “I'm already wet, I'm gonna shower.” He gave her an annoyed but amused look and rolled his eyes before walking out of the kitchen. Arya pulled the mop out of the closet and leaned against the wall for a moment, catching her breath. She couldn't help but replay those seconds that she had caught, the way the wet fabric had clung to every muscle, every ridge in his skin.

She waited until she could hear the water running and music blaring from the bathroom as well as the rest of the apartment before calling Sansa. The moment the line picked up, she said in a low voice, “Help. I think I'm sick.”

Sansa sounded concerned right off the bat. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“No,” Arya muttered. “I'm alone with Gendry this weekend.”

There was a beat. And then, “That's it?”

“Yes. We got in a water fight.”

“As many roommates do.”

“Exactly. And, he got wet.”

Sansa sounded almost impatient. “That tends to happen with water fights.”

Arya huffed. “It was like... Sticking to things.”

“What was sticking to things?” Now she just sounded lost.

Arya sighed loudly. “His shirt,” she hissed into the phone.

Silence again. And then, “Ohhhhh. He's ripped?”

“So ripped.” The words felt acidic on her tongue and suddenly she wanted to puke.

“So... I don't understand what the problem is.”

“I don't want to think that! Or anything similar! Or anything about him! Ever!”

Sansa finally asked, “Are you annoyed because you're a girl?”

Arya huffed. “I know I'm a girl.”

“No, I don't think you do. You've always denied anything girly about yourself. It's like you're embarrassed to be a girl. Just because you run with the boys does not make you a boy, Arya. You're still a girl. You're still going to look when a guy's hot.”

Arya groaned. The words seemed to simultaneously help and make her feel worse. “But...” she hesitated again, searching for words to validate her point. “But.”

“But what? Arya, if he's hot go for it. Maybe he'd be into it. It sounds like maybe you-”

The water shut off. “I'm begging you not to finish that thought. But listen, I need to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow.” She tossed her phone on the counter and quickly got to mopping.

She was battling the mop to go back into the closet when she heard Gendry's voice behind her. “I definitely needed that shower.”

“I know,” she said without missing a beat. “You were stinking up the whole place.”

“Har har,” he deadpanned.

Arya rolled her eyes and turned around to face him- then immediately wished that she hadn't. His waist was wrapped in a towel and he was completely bare chested. She could feel her face growing warm, although she was mentally fighting that because she was determined that Arya Stark did not blush. She knew that her brother Bran would get a kick out of this entire situation. He'd probably video tape it, and then his girlfriend Meera would delete it.

Gendry grabbed her Pepsi and took a swing, then met her eyes with a challenging grin. “You soaked me,” he told her, “I get a drink.”

She rolled her eyes. “You could get your own and you started it.”

“We all know I dish it out, I am not built for taking it.”

“That's bullshit,” she replied, taking the can from his hands. “Now, my brother Theon really is like that. He dishes it out all day long but he doesn't take it near as well.”

Gendry grinned at her and leaned against the counter. “Do you really have five brothers?”

“Last I checked.”

He gave a low whistle. “And a sister, right? The one who told you not to live with us?”

“Yeah.” Arya nodded and pushed her hair back behind an ear. “Do you have siblings?” She hadn't realized that she didn't know the answer to that question until this moment, and a pang of guilt for never thinking about it before shot through her.

“No.” Gendry shook his head. “No.” His tongue darted over his lips and he shook his head. “I don't have any family.”

Arya furrowed her brow at him, shocked. “No family?” She couldn't even imagine that, having grown up with such a full household.

He shook his head, giving her a small smile that screamed all sorts of held back sadness and pain. “Nah. It's fine, I mean it's not recent. My dad never stuck around and my mom died when I was about seventeen.”

“Were you in foster?”

“For like a year. It sucked.”

Arya gaped at him and then shook her head. “I can't imagine.”

He shrugged. “I can't imagine your circumstance either.” He gave her a playful smile. “Maybe that's why we get along so well.”

“We do do we?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, I make everyone dance with me to Carrie Underwood.” He grinned and tossed a dish towel at her for apparently no reason at all before going down the hall. Arya flushed and bit her lip before letting out a breath and silently scolding herself. She needed to knock it off. She did not need to have a crush on her roommate, she didn't need to be attracted to her roommate. It was literally the worst thing she could do actually.

 

\- - -

Her 19th birthday started with a bang. Literally. Her door banged open, hitting the wall. She woke with a startled gasp and sat bolt up right as the boys jumped on her bed singing happy birthday. She would have been angry or at least frustrated if it wasn't so... Well, so them.

Besides, they weren't in her room for even five minutes before Hot Pie pulled her into the kitchen where he had wolf shaped pancakes waiting. She hugged him with a grin on her face. “Thank you,” she told him earnestly.

Hot Pie grinned and then Gendry pulled her into a bone crushing hug himself. She gave something between a groan and a laugh as she hugged him back. “Is your goal to stop me from breathing more after today?”

He gave a small chuckle, his breath hot on her ear. “Shut up,” he whispered. She wished that he could think of anything but his lips by her ear, of his breath ticking the hair at the side of her face. “I'll give you my present later, okay?”

Arya nodded, her arms tightening around him briefly before releasing him. He gave her a small smile in return and glanced at Hot Pie. “When does the thing get here?”

Hot Pie grinned. “Soon.” He handed Arya the plate with pancakes on it. “You should eat breakfast.” Arya glanced between them with raised eyebrows before going to the table and sitting down. She had only finished her first plate of pancakes (she always could eat more than one) when there was a knock at the door. She ignored it and went to get more pancakes but Hot Pie stopped her, grabbing her wrist gently. She stared at him. “You need to answer the door.”

“You are so weird.” Arya stared at him as she pulled her wrist back. She rolled her eyes and got up, going down the hall. Her hand fell on the handle when she opened it, she was ambushed in a hug so quickly that she almost fell over and also may have had a couple thoughts about self defense. But she caught a glimpse of her sister's beautiful auburn hair and made a noise of surprise, gripping Sansa tightly in her arms.

“Happy birthday!” Sansa squealed, pulling Arya closer.

Arya managed to get free, wrenching her head around to get a better look at her sister. “It's really you? How? I mean-”

“The boys called me.” Sansa beamed at her and nodded at the other two. Arya turned her head around to face them and the unbelievable started to happen. The boys swam before her as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She pursed her lips and blinked hard, determined that she would not let them fall.

“You did this?”

Gendry gave her a small smile. “We tried for the whole family, we really did. But it's really hard to schedule with that many people, did you know that?” His tone was playful, light, carefree. She swallowed and looked at Hot Pie, who just smiled at her and shrugged as if it was nothing. But it was something. It was everything.

She swallowed thickly and said in as clear of a voice as she could manage, “Thank you. Thank you both.”

Gendry shrugged and Hot Pie just grinned at her and said, “You're welcome lumpyhead.” She gave a small laugh and hoped that it wasn't as watery as it felt.

Sansa took her hand. “Get dressed. I want to see _everything._ Show me your campus and where you like to go. I haven't seen any of it.”

Arya couldn't respond so she just moved down the hall and kicked her door shut- most of the way- and got dressed quickly. Then she grabbed her boots and whirled down the hall. But she didn't get as far as she had intended, instead making hard contact with a sturdy body. Gendry looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow (so she cocked her eyebrow back of course). His lips twitched into a smile and he stepped back .

“You okay?”

Arya nodded. “Thank you,” she said again, her voice rasping slightly this time. He smiled at her and only nodded at Sansa.

“Go on then.”

Arya wasn't one to be particularly touchy, unless it was with her family and even then... But she surprised the both of them then. Her eyes were sinking into his and then she leaned up and pressed her lips against his cheek. As she pulled back, she saw his eyebrows shoot up, his mouth fall open slightly. Before he could say a word, before her response could even register, she was out the door, pulling Sansa by the hand.

“Arya Stark,” Sansa said as they walked into the bright outdoors. “Did you kiss that boy on the cheek?”

Arya fought a blush as hard as she could. “It was just- I mean it was only- I just- No.” 

Sansa gave her an amused look, her eyebrows knitting together. “I'm sorry,” she said finally. “Did you just say no? I saw it.” She grinned until that grin turned into a laugh. It was a light, beautiful laugh, as it always had been. 

When they had been younger, they had been as different as night and day. Many would say that Sansa was the day and Arya was the night, but Arya disagreed. It seemed like the natural response, the natural thing to assume. But it simply was wrong. Sansa was graceful, beautiful, a beautiful gem that could shine anywhere. She had always been a starry night. Arya was more like the day, midday even, she burned too bright, shone too hot. She scared people away, sent them indoors. She was overwhelming, and it wasn't in the beautiful and elegant way her sister was.

Arya had resented Sansa when they were younger. If she was being honest, she still did. Something like that didn't just vanish. The feelings of resentment, of jealousy were still there. But she had grown to appreciate her sister, to accept their differences. 

“I did say no,” Arya said. “Because it's my birthday and I don't want to talk about it, I would rather talk about you. How's work?”

Sansa scrunched up her nose. She had made the decision to take a year off of school, to actually study her schooling in the real world. It sounded ridiculous, but made sense when she explained it. She was a psychology major and there was no better way to learn about people than to take a year and watch them. And so she had ended up working at a bar with their brother, Jon, who had recently taken up management. “The Night's Watch isn't awful,” she said carefully. “It's a good place to watch people, they're just-”

“Robbers?” Arya suggested. “Murderers?”

Sansa rolled her eyes. “Crude,” she said finally. “Like this one man. He's in there every night and I swear, Arya, he leaves with a different girl every night.”

Arya raised her eyebrows. “He's a regular then?”

“Jon knows him well.” Sansa shook her head. “God forbid I end up knowing him well.”

Arya grinned at her sister. “Oh, you will,” she told her. “Simply because you don't want to.”

Sansa wrinkled her nose at her in response. “Jon really wanted to come by the way,” she said. “But Joer wouldn't allow him. It's too busy of a weekend.”

“It's okay,” Arya told her. “It's nice to spend time with you.” It wasn't something that was said between the two often, as shown in Sansa's surprised look. But Sansa's smile told her that she felt the same.

“Gendry's the one that you like then?”

Arya stared at her. “No! I don't like either of them!”

“Oh, I'm your sister, you can tell me,” Sansa replied.

Arya shook her head fervently. “I don't. He's just- He's just-”

“Gorgeous,” Sansa offered. She grinned at Arya's glare and threw her head back thoughtfully. Playfully she added, “Sweet, plays around with you, responsible, cares about you enough to call me?”

“They both did that,” Arya told her sternly.

Sansa grinned. “They did,” she agreed. “But Hot Pie isn't the one who has a crush on you.”

Arya shoved her sister, refusing to entertain the thought.

 - - -

 

They ordered in from multiple fast food places, after Gendry and Hot Pie couldn't decide and Arya _wouldn't_ decide for them. So forty minutes later, both Chinese food and Pizza Hut were delivered. It was an odd combination, but no one questioned it as they ate the large amount of food.

“I brought you something,” Sansa said slowly as Hot Pie got up to get the cake out of refrigerator. “It's not your present, I'll give you that later. But... It's to go with dessert. You can never tell Mom, do you understand?” Arya nodded slowly as Sansa got up and went to her stuff in Arya's room. She returned with a bottle of red wine. Arya grinned at her and Sansa held up a hand.

“If a word of this ever gets to Mom,” she said, “I will personally kill you. Do you understand me?”

Arya took the bottle and grinned at her older sister. “I can't believe you did this. Rule breaker.”

Sansa looked almost offended. “I know how to break the rules.” When Arya raised an eyebrow, and Gendry mimicked her as if he knew as much, Sansa scowled. “Be nice or I'll take it back.”

“I love you,” Arya told her. “Do you have one of those wine screwy things?”

“I would have brought one,” Sansa said, “excpet it's a twist top.” Arya did a double take before twisting it open.

“Oh. Look at that.”

“Technically,” Sansa said as she sat. “This was Theon's idea. And Robb and Jon immediately got on board.”

“Of course it was, and of course they did.” Arya looked at Gendry pointedly. “You're the one of age,” she told him. “I don't know where wine glasses are. Are we even that sophisticated?”

Gendry laughed and got up. He returned with four wine glasses, which he set in front of each of them. Sansa eyed her little sister affectionately as she said, “Please don't make me regret this.”

“I won't tell Mom.” Arya grinned at her and playfully asked, “But what about Dad? I can totally tell him right?”

Sansa scowled and leaned back. “Oh, he knows. He was fine with it.”

Arya laughed, because it was completely in character if she thought about it. Sansa poured the wine as Ht Pie brought the cake over. “I hope it's okay,” he said cheerfully. It looked great. All she could do was grin at him and wonder why she was ever afraid of being their roommate.

As the plates were cleared from the table, Arya found herself thinking of home. This was usually when they would do gifts back in the Stark home. But Sansa had had the idea to keep the gifts she'd brought from the family until she and Arya retired to Arya's bedroom. She had to admit, as impatient as she was, she loved the idea. It was personal, something directly from home.

“Hey.” A hand fell on her shoulder and Arya nearly jumped. She silently scolded herself for getting so lost in thought as she glanced over to see Gendry standing beside her chair. He looked almost nervous. “Can I talk to you on the porch?”

She glanced at the outside patio and nodded slowly, getting up. “You okay?” she asked him, eyes searching for any sign that he wasn't.

“Fine,” he replied, his voice breathy.

Arya caught Hot Pie's eye and nodded to the back porch. “We're gonna go outside for a minute.” Hot Pie nodded and Sansa looked over, her eyes questioning silently. Arya shrugged her shoulders in response, inclining her head ever so slightly at Gendry. Sansa arched an eyebrow and then turned away. Arya shook her head and followed Gendry outside.

“You really don't seem fine,” Arya told him as she shut the door behind them. “You look really freaked out.”

“I'm fine.” He wrung his hands in front of him, looking anywhere but at her. It was bugging the crap out of her.

“Gendry,” she said, exasperated. “What is going on?”

His tongue darted over his lips, his head nodding, his hands rubbing on his pants. No part of him could seem to stay still. “That guy,” he said finally, “in our kitchen.”

Arya stared at him, biting back the temptation to ask if he meant himself or even Hot Pie. Finally, the realization came. “The guy at the party?”

Gendry nodded his head. “Why didn't you... Why... I mean, he wasn't ugly.”

Arya frowned at him. “I told you why. I wanted a little higher quality for my first kiss than for it to taste like cheap alchohol and drugs. I mean, I don't know why. It's probably going to suck anyway.” Gendry seemed to turn an odd shade of green. He wrenched his head away, looking out over the city. She stared at him, thinking that this was the most bent out of shape she might have ever seen him.

“Is that really it?” he asked finally.”That's all you imagined for your first kiss? That it wouldn't taste like he was a lowlife?”

Arya shrugged. “I don't know. I used to try not to think about it much. When I was in high school, I was pretty sure it would never happen so...”

When Gendry looked at her, he looked almost pained. “Did you... Did you want it to be a boyfriend?” he pressed. “Or a certain guy?”

Arya frowned at him and shook her head slowly. “No. I just, I imagined that I- that he would be a fairly decent guy, not gross or anything. That we'd be sober, that maybe I knew him. Maybe there were feelings but I mean... I guess it wasn't necessary?” She stopped as she thought over her list. “Holy shit, I'm never going to get kissed.”

Gendry nodded, not catching or caring about the joke, at least she hoped it was a joke but she wasn't even sure herself at that point. She was about to ask if he was alright again when he lurched forward suddenly. Then his lips crashed on hers and Arya froze, too surprised to do anything. Her lack of movement seemed to panic him and his lips moved against hers, almost as if he needed it. And then the movement kicked her into life and she kissed him back, her arms winding around his neck and her hands going into his hair. His arms slammed around her waist, shoving her against him.

Kissing Gendry was like an ocean storm, like waves slamming against rocks on the shore. Passionate, desperate, absolutely beautiful.

And then it was over. He wrenched himself away, his eyes resting on hers, almost anxiously. “I... I thought it was time you had your first kiss.... Happy birthday m'lady... I hope... I hope that was okay...”

All she could do was nod her head as she tried to process what had happened. She had kissed Gendry, he had kissed her. He had called her m'lady and it hadn't been a taunt or a joke and she actually didn't hate it being used seriously. He had _wanted_ to kiss her- and she had _enjoyed_ it. She felt out of breath, winded even, but she hadn't done anything physical enough for it- or had she? Maybe, just maybe, it was Gendry alone who had winded her. Maybe there was actually something there, between them, something that could happen, something that could form.

Gendry still looked nervous, although not quite green anymore. His hand lifted and the back of his knuckles brushed her cheek. And then he slowly leaned down, stopping an inch or so from her lips. He leaned forward, his almost nudging hers.

_He's asking for permission,_ she realized with a lurch. She wondered how on earth they were both standing with the entire world spinning like it was. Arya leaned up, her hand sliding to rest on his neck as she pressed her lips against his. It was timid and gentle, at first, her uncertainty showing through. But then his lips responded and she felt something wake in her. She leaned into it, her lips starting to move more fiercely, with passion and hunger. And he matched it completely, his mouth working against hers as if he needed her; and maybe he did, she hoped so. She was beginning to think, to fear even, that she might need him.

When he pulled away, her lips followed his for a moment, before she registered that it was really over. His forehead came to rest against hers and they stood there for a moment, wrapped up in each other, pressed against each other. Finally, Gendry whispered, “Your sister will be waiting for you, m'lady.”

Arya felt her eyes flutter open and she looked up at him for a long moment. She didn't want to leave, this moment. She didn't know what would happen when she stepped inside, didn't know if this moment would continue to exist or if it would be like it never happened. But she knew they couldn't stay here and wait to find out forever. They had to face whatever would come next. So she nodded her head and pulled away from him, out of his arms. Gendry's face looked pained as she stepped away but he didn't stop her. She almost wanted him to.

Instead, he opened the door for her and she went inside. But she felt a smile pull at her face because her first kiss hadn't tasted like cheap alcohol or drugs. 

Gendry had tasted like chocolate cake and red wine.

 


End file.
